A new consulate office of India will open in the Seattle area very soon.

Susmita Thomas, the consul general of India from the India Consulate in San Francisco, was the guest of honor at the 25th anniversary gala of the local India Association of Western Washington (IAWW) on Oct. 5 at the Westin in Bellevue.

The chair of the 25th-year celebrations, Debutta Dash, emphasized the need to build bridges between communities in order to achieve the common goal of helping people of color.